Muse review, May 7, 13 days Dublin to Barcelona.

Yes, i would sail on the Muse again. The ship is incredibly beautiful. Pictures do not do it justice. It is not "brown" but it is tonal with a wonderful mix of textures and places for the eye to rest before moving on. the fabrics are rich, and colors play off each other differently with the changing light of the day. The veranda cabin was so well designed. The colors calming and restful, space for everything. Bathroom well thought out. We ran into some pretty impressive seas crossing from Ireland to Spain, force 7 & 8 gales. Some smaller ships can really make me feel apprehensive in those kinds of seas, but the Muse didn't have any kind of "cork" feeling, she was moving steadily through the water. We missed Waterford due to high winds. Not a disappointment to me, as the extra day in Dublin gave me a chance to see the Natl Archaeological Museum, which was closed for the bank holiday the day we toured the city. But, we were docked in a very industrial area, and the extended stay didn't sit well with some.

I was worried that a butler would be intrusive, but he was simply helpful. We didn't ask for much, but when we did it was cheerfully supplied. Andrew kept me well supplied with the California Chard I quite like. We left the ship for one night to explore the Douro Valley. We caught back up with the ship the next night in Lisbon. Andrew surprised us upon return to our cabin with a table decorated with a welcome home banner, a bottle of bubbly, and chocolate-covered strawberries. Such a nice gesture!!

I was a little worried that the table in the cabin would not be large enough to dine on. Silversea cleverly keeps an folding tabletop in the room, stowed in the closet and it makes the table plenty big enough to eat a meal on. The one thing we noticed was that any time we asked for a deviation in the requested item (always to leave something off, not add to it) room service could not get it right. Ever. This happened in the grill during the daytime as well. What I think is happening is that the servers have small tablets to enter the orders, and they seem to struggle with this. I don't think the ordering program on the tablet is flexible enough.

The whole restaurant reservations thing was a non-issue for us. Over 13 days, we made some reservations, and left half the nights open. We ate wherever we wanted to whenever we wanted to, early or late. I dislike the "hot rocks" premise intensely, but they happily cooked and plated whatever we wanted from the menu, and did it well. The overhead heat lamps and blankets made cool evenings just fine. While we were onboard, a contractor installed removable clear panels along the sides of the Grill, to keep the wind down. On the whole the food is adequate. They failed the burger test miserably, passed the hot dog test with flying colors. Simple dishes were usually very well prepared, never over or under cooked. La Dame is not worth the surcharge, As a matter of fact, we had the lobster bisque twice, once in La Dame (it was okay) and once in Atlantide. The bisque in Atlantide was excellent. Certain dishes in Indochine were outstanding (the beef pho was exactly what it should be. Spicy, but not mouth searing, with layers of flavor.) others simply "meh". The sea bass i had in Atlantide was simply and perfectly cooked. On a whole, the portions are too large. i learned to day "SMALL portion, please" with every order. Spacconapoli does, I think, make the best pizza at sea. With a caveat. We only ordered the small pizzas. Those came out with a great crust, proper bubbles from high heat and a nice chew. The large pizzas I saw looked, well, goopy with too much stuff, and not enough structure.

Desserts were not the ship's "thing" All the pastries were pretty tasteless. Grand Marnier souffle was also tasteless, the kaffir lime and ginger creme brulee in Indochine was a winner. It didn't end up being a problem, as anytime something sweet was desired, we just got the gelato or sorbets. Excellent, truly homemade, with intense flavors, so I didn't feel deprived.

A word about the Arts Cafe. BIG winner. The staff up there is experienced, and polished. Best service on the ship. Now they just need to install a 24 hour coffee machine in Tor's. having coffee delivered to the suite just wasn't happening in the early morning without waking the spouse.

Entertainment: the young Silversea singers were high-energy and fun to watch. the chanteuse in Silver Note I felt was phoning it in, but her accompanist, who played really excellent jazz piano during dinner was so good. I could have listened to him alone for hours. In Cadiz they brought on a Spanish guitarist who payed at 6:30 one evening. He was phenomenal. The entire room was entranced.

ShoreEx. Took two tours. Shorex staff was engaged and efficient. The tours were pretty much what I expected. A bus.. With a guide. And stops. I need to stop doing these. I just don't get anything out of them.

That is all!

Thanks for sharing your review Kate. Makes me very excited to return to the Muse in June. Like you, I love what SS has done with the Arts Cafe.